Ranking the 20 High Schools That Produce the Best NCAA Basketball Talent

Future NCAA basketball stars can pop up at any school—witness Anthony Davis, a product of Chicago’s unheralded Perspectives Charter Academy—but some high school programs have made a science of turning out prime college talent year after year. Many of those schools have been renowned for decades, while others are just coming into their own.

One program in the latter category is Nevada’s Findlay Prep. In just five years of existence, the hoops powerhouse has produced an astonishing number of top-level college players, including Anthony Bennett for nearby UNLV.

Read on for a closer look at Findlay and the rest of the 20 high schools around the country that yield the most impressive college players.

Rather than considering every player a high-school program has sent to Division I, these rankings are weighted heavily towards individual stars and players who have made key contributions for major college teams. In addition, an impressive history helps a school here, but only if it’s backed up by recent productivity.

18. Whitney Young Magnet (IL)

After a few years of notoriety as "the team with Michael Jordan’s son", Whitney Young has become one of the hotter programs in the country in recent seasons.

Although its history doesn’t go much beyond former DePaul standout Quentin Richardson, the team is definitely on its way up.

Oregon State’s Ahmad Starks and Ohio State highlight machine Sam Thompson have both turned in impressive college performances, and the best is yet to come. Current Dolphins star Jahlil Okafor is ESPN’s No. 1-rated recruit for the class of 2014.

17. Christ the King (NY)

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If you’re looking for big-time players in very small packages, Christ the King is a great place to start.

The Queens-based program did plenty to advance New York City’s reputation as a cradle of point guards, turning out Derrick Phelps (North Carolina), Speedy Claxton (Hofstra) and Omar Cook (St. John’s) in quick succession in the 1990s.

The Royals are still producing some of the college game’s best small guards, including recent Florida star Erving Walker and current UConn standout Omar Calhoun.

Remarkably, Christ the King’s girls program is even more extraordinary than the boys’ version, having produced three of the women’s game’s greatest stars: Chamique Holdsclaw, Sue Bird and Tina Charles.

16. St. Benedict’s (NJ)

Versatility has been a hallmark of recent St. Benedict’s players, a virtue best exemplified by Villanova combo guard Corey Stokes.

Lamar Patterson, a perfect fit in a glue-guy role at Pitt, is another former Gray Bee who fills up plenty of columns on the stat sheet.

It’s no great surprise that most of the Newark school’s alumni wind up in the Big East, even if (as Louisville’s Samardo Samuels could point out) that covered an awful lot of geography before realignment.

Meanwhile, the latest potential star from St. Benedict’s is heading to a school that’s leaving the Big East, as Tyler Ennis tries to become Jim Boeheim’s next great point guard at Syracuse.

15. Simeon Career Academy (IL)

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Simeon stars of the past stayed pretty close to home, whether it was Nick Anderson at Illinois or Bobby Simmons at DePaul. More recently, though, the school has turned out talents that have forced coaches across the country to take notice.

The most recent of those, Jabari Parker, is headed to Duke as the nation's No. 2-ranked recruit, while teammate Kendrick Nunn is joining the ranks of ex-Wolverines headed to Champaign-Urbana.

Talented as Parker is, he’ll need a monster freshman season to match the one turned in by Simeon’s most prominent alum, former Memphis guard (and 2011 NBA MVP) Derrick Rose.

14. Detroit Country Day (MI)

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Like the nearby Pistons of the NBA, Detroit Country Day has made a habit out of turning out top-notch defenders. Amir Williams may not be much of an offensive threat, but his shot blocking has earned him a major role at defense-happy Ohio State.

Of course, some former Yellow Jackets have turned out to be pretty impressive as scorers, too—witness recent University of Detroit star Ray McCallum.

Even McCallum's impressive college performance, though, can’t touch the program’s two most famous alumni: Duke’s Shane Battier (a Wooden Award winner and national champion) and the biggest star of Michigan’s Fab Five, Chris Webber.

12. St. Anthony’s (NJ)

Rival St. Patrick’s may have closed its doors, but New Jersey’s other basketball superpower keeps rolling along.

Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley has seen sons Bobby (the former Duke great) and Danny (now Rhode Island’s head coach) come through St. Anthony’s, along with a host of other collegiate stars.

The Friars have been turning out a wealth of perimeter talent lately, including Florida’s Mike Rosario and former Kansas PG Tyshawn Taylor.

The latest St. Anthony’s alum to make good on the Division I stage is Kyle Anderson, the would-be point forward who turned into a top target for Larry Drew II (as well as an ace rebounder) at UCLA last year.

10. New Hampton (NH)

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One thing you can count on from New Hampton’s basketball players: they can shoot the rock. Recent Huskies Brady Heslip (Baylor) and Olivier Hanlan (Boston College) have wasted no time becoming the top long-range threats for their respective teams.

Even big men such as Noah Vonleh—the prize of Indiana’s 2013 recruiting class—come away from New Hampton with an enviable shooting touch.

It’s no surprise from a program whose history includes such impressive gunners as former North Carolina star Rashad McCants and Syracuse scoring machine Lawrence Moten.

9. Fairfax (CA)

Like many California schools, the small-forward factory at Fairfax sees most of its players stay near the Pacific Ocean for their college years.

That’s good news for the Pac-12, where Arizona just finished getting four great seasons out of Solomon Hill, and the Mountain West, where UNLV’s Chace Stanback put up impressive scoring numbers.

Other standout ex-Lions include UCLA’s Josh Shipp and (much farther back) Chris Mills of Arizona. One of the few Fairfax stars who left the West Coast behind, Sean Higgins, turned out pretty well himself, helping bring Michigan its only national title.

8. Tilton (NH)

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Tilton’s latest McDonald’s All-American, Wayne Selden, is headed to Kansas, where he’ll try to remind the country that former Rams don’t spend all their time playing defense.

For all that Georges Niang has made some noise offensively at Iowa State—and Gerard Coleman will do the same when he becomes eligible at Gonzaga—Tilton’s most successful hoopsters have been decidedly defense-first types.

Alex Oriakhi helped win a national title at UConn with rebounding and shot blocking, and even as a senior at Missouri last year he wasn’t a particular offensive force.

Neither, for much of his brief college career, was Nerlens Noel, but the Kentucky center was the best defensive weapon in the college ranks last season until he blew out his knee.

7. South Kent (CT)

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Few schools of any size can match the national shadow cast by little South Kent. Cardinals alumni have landed everywhere from St. John’s (Moe Harkless) to Washington (Isaiah Thomas), and plenty of major programs in between.

South Kent also has a great chance to land its first Wooden Award winner next season. Russ Smith. The star of defending champion Louisville has done even better in his current Cardinals jersey than he did in his old one.